Author: M Barbu

10 Things to Know About Hezbollah

  1. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Islamist terrorist organization

Hezbollah (also spelled “Hizballah”) is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization and a political party based in Lebanon. The group seeks the destruction of Israel and conducts terrorist and criminal activity around the globe. Hezbollah provides its Lebanese supporters with public services, including social welfare, schools, and housing, and indoctrinates them with its Shiite revolutionary ideology.

Iran Braces for Israeli Attack That Could Change the Middle East Forever

After carrying out an explosive act of vengeance against Israel, Iran is preparing for the country to strike back in another dangerous round of escalation that has the potential to push the Middle East into an all-out war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Iran would “pay” after the Islamic Republic fired up to 200 missiles against its longtime foe in response to the assassination of Hamas’s chief in Tehran, the killing of the leader of Hezbollah and a senior Iranian military official in Beirut and other Israel-linked actions across the Middle East.

Iran’s Missile Attack is a Challenge Israel Can’t Ignore

Iran will be hoping that it has reinforced its credibility in the Middle East with its attack on Israel, but it is more likely to prompt a damaging Israeli response.

It will take time for both confirmation and reliable assessments of damage on the ground to come out, but at the moment and based on various government briefings, it appears that between 180 and 200 ballistic missiles were launched from Iran at several targets in Israel on the evening of 1 October. This is nearly double the number of ballistic missiles involved in Iran’s attack in April. At the time of writing, there do not appear to have been any accompanying cruise missiles or drones, including anything launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah.

Grand strategy: Alliances

Key points

  • Alliances are usually temporary arrangements among states to counter—or “balance” against—a specific common threat. The United States’ Cold War alliances, by contrast, have become seemingly permanent.
  • States tend to balance power when they face a major threat. Bandwagoning, by contrast, is a particularly poor option for states with the capability to put up a fight. When threatened, states tend to join forces in alliances rather than surrender their national survival to the whims of a more powerful aggressor.
  • Alliances, however, entail costs and risks. These include the dangers of being drawn into war through entanglement and entrapment, the deleterious effect on deterrence by allies that neglect their defense by “free-riding,” and the moral hazard produced by enabling allies to act like “reckless drivers.”
  • Over time, the United States has shifted from a deep skepticism of “entangling alliances” to a global network of security dependents that are treated as an end in themselves, rather than a means to an end. This posture has left the United States overextended, while encouraging allies to neglect their own capabilities and preparedness.
  • The United States can and should significantly reduce its alliance commitments, particularly in Europe and the Middle East, where threats to the U.S. are remote and local powers can balance adversaries. In Asia, the United States should act as a backstop to the regional balance of power rather than a vanguard.

Four Iraqi soldiers killed in Islamic State group ambush

Four Iraqi troops were killed Wednesday and several wounded in an ambush by the extremist Islamic State group, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said.

The attack came days after the U.S. military announced that troops from its coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria will withdraw from Iraqi territory next year but maintain a presence in Syria until 2026.

Kievan Russia (882−1242): The Original National State of Russians

In the years from 882 to 1242 the first and original national state organization of the Russians – the Kievan Russia (not Kyivan Rusia or Kyiv Rus’!) became directly and indirectly subject to external political influences by several external political units of the time. According to the official historiographical traditions (mainly of Western origin), Kievan Russia was established and governed by the Nordic Vikings (“Varyagi/Varangians/Rus’”) with the Dnieper as its axis with Kiev as capital and later received Christianity of the Eastern (Greek) type from the Byzantium in the south and was finally conquered by the barbaric Mongol Tartars from the east.

Is Israel Spearheading Global Fight Against Terrorists? – OpEd

When Hamas launched an attack against Israel on 7th October, 2024, Israel was caught unaware and unprepared. In the attack, around 1200 people in Israel lost their lives and around 250 people were taken as hostage by Hamas. It was an unprovoked attack. This attack can justifiably be termed as act of terrorism, though Hamas claims that it was justified from their viewpoint.